Alnwick Castle

It's been three weeks now since we came back from our Northumberland holidays and I've finally managed to sort through some of the several hundred photos. One of the great things about blogging is that you get to relive all those moments which now seem so distant they might never have happened! There are still all the posts to write but today I have one of our days out to share.

One of the reasons we chose to stay in the small town of Alnwick was its proximity to lots of places we wanted to visit and especially the castle and gardens. The Castle was a mere 10 minute stroll from our cottage. There are a couple of entrances but we approached the Lion Arch via the park.

There have been castles on this site since 1096 though most of what you see is from the 1300s. It has been the home of the Dukes of Northumberland for over 700 years and they still live in part of it (mostly during the winter when the tourists have gone home). Here we're looking at the inner section which houses the State Rooms. We did have a look around those but there was no photography allowed. It was interesting to see the rooms the family does still use, complete with TV and beanbags for the dogs!

There were lots of free tours and activities to sign up for and we chose the location tour: Harry was our guide. He explained that, as the Castle is so pristine, it has proved a popular location for TV and film-makers. It's most famous as being Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films but has also featured in things like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Blackadder and Downton Abbey.

This is the Inner Bailey. The grass has regularly been dug up to give the rough dirt feel of a medieval castle. I think he said Downton Abbey had filmed in this part (I've never watched it myself).

I do remember that the archway is one of the oldest parts of the castle, dating from Norman times (11th century).

This lantern features towards the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves when the evil abbot is pushed from a window in a tower. We were fascinated to hear that his plunge actually featured three different locations. The view as he exits the window was filmed in France, the middle part was Durham Cathedral and it's only the final part that was filmed at Alnwick as he plummets past the lantern. I'll be watching out for it next time I watch the film (one of my favourites).

Out now into the Outer Bailey where the flying lesson in the first Harry Potter was filmed.

The lion carved on the wall is original and the director liked it so much it was kept as the symbol for Gryffindor.

At this point the tour ended and we were left to wander. But what's this?

Why it's Professor Dumbledore! (with broomstick training in the background)

And not only the Professor but Harry Potter himself! They were there to demonstrate some magic.

The young man playing Harry was brilliant and wandered around between performances happily chatting with visitors and posing for photos.

Magic tricks over we strolled along the gun terrace.

At the end was an exhibition to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown who landscaped the surrounding parkland. The lure of the river and fields proved too much so we ended our visit and headed out of the castle.

The Lion Bridge features a statue of the Percy Lion. Percy is the family name of the Dukes of Northumberland and their lion always has a straight tail.

Lovely views down the river Aln.

We strolled along the river through land known as The Pastures.

Tufted ducks

Children were making the most of the hot weather, playing in the weir.

One last look back at the castle before we retraced our steps and headed back to the cottage. The castle is worth a visit though it's relatively small compared to other castles and there's not as much to see as I expected. I'd definitely sign up for all the free activities to get the most from your visit.

Hope you enjoyed that. I have so much more to show you but, for now, I'm off to have breakfast. Enjoy your Sunday. x

Days 23-25: Trees, a moth and singing!

Day 23: Hug and investigate a tree

After cooing over the baby grebes, Chickpea and I headed to a Norway Maple to hug and investigate. It was a suggestion in one of the regular emails I've been receiving from the 30 Days Wild team and a quick and easy option to try. This is one of my favourite local trees as its leaves have beautiful autumn colour. Very green and leafy at this time of year though. The bark rubbing was done as part of 30DW last year.

Day 24: Identify a moth

I arrived home from work to find Chickpea in a state of excitement about a moth she'd found in the porch that morning. Luckily she'd photographed it so I was able to identify it as a magpie moth. What a beauty! I was pretty excited myself until I found out it likes to feed on gooseberries - no doubt the very ones in my garden!

Later, after my daily grebe watch, I glanced at one of the trees and, lo and behold, there was one high up on the trunk: I managed to see one myself after all.

Day 25: Sing in the rain

Today's act of wildness was inspired by us going to see Singing in the Rain at the theatre this afternoon (excellent it was too). It started to rain and there was nothing for it but to stand in the garden and break into song. 'That well doesn't sound like you' commented Chickpea. I'm thinking that's a good thing! Definitely more a Morecambe and Wise version than Gene Kelly! (I hope the M&W link works - it was surprisingly hard to find one on t'internet).

I couldn't sign off without showing you the latest photos of the baby grebes. They've been entertaining me with their feeding antics. So anxious to be first to the food, they've taken to diving into the water!

Day 22: the grebes have hatched!

Day 22 brought the most exciting moments of 30 Days Wild so far: we have baby grebes! I'd gone to check on progress as usual and met Charlie and his owner on the way - I only know the dog's names but never the owner! Have I heard the news? The grebes have hatched!!!

I didn't know that the little grebelings ride on their mum's back for a few weeks. So cute! As you can see, she's a proud mamma of three stripey beauties.

Dad is pretty proud too and very attentive.

We've watched in delight as he searches for fish to feed them. When he finds one, he calls to the mother and motors across the pond to the sound of the chicks cheeping.

Mamma looks for fish too but it's a bit precarious for her brood! A couple of times she reared up to stretch and ruffle her feathers and they all fell off! Cue a mad scramble to climb back aboard.

I was out at 6.30 this morning to look at them again before I had to go to work. Needless to say you're probably going to be seeing a lot more of this new family :)

Days 20 and 21: insects and yoga

 

Just a quick post to share my 30 days wild for days 20 and 21. The real excitement is in my next post though: hold onto your hats!

Day 20: Find an insect

This is National Insect Week so, after checking on the grebes, I headed into the undergrowth to look for insects and found this. I was struggling to identify it from my limited guidebooks until I saw the same one on Amanda's blog! Thanks to her, I know it's a golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle - a long name for a small insect! How amazing are those antenna?

As I walked home, an oystercatcher called as it circled over the lake a few times before heading east.

Day 21: Strike a pose

My wild moment for the day had been admiring the clematis flower below which had just opened. However, when I got to my yoga class, I found it was also International Yoga Day. Very appropriate then to strike a pose in the open air when I arrived home: this is Marichyasana 1.

Day 19: Visit a wildflower meadow

Opposite the church hall where my quilt group meets, I'd noticed a community meadow. In April, it was full of cowslips and I wondered what was in flower now. Off I went with Chickpea to find out: I have to say this was quite a sacrifice on her part as she suffers from hayfever and a meadow is really the last place she wants to be at the moment!

At first sight it didn't look that exciting. Lots of grasses, buttercups and clover but not much else. Wander further in though and look closely.

Yellow rattle

Marsh orchid?

Northern marsh orchid?

Ragged Robin

Oxeye daisy

Fox and cubs

Meadow crane's-bill

Common bistort

Flag iris

And this was the view looking back over the field towards the church and Winter Hill. It was surprising to find so much in a small area and I'm going to go back later in the summer to see what else appears.

Do let me know if I've identified any of the flowers incorrectly. The orchids, in particular, I find really tricky.

Back home there is little sign of progress with my own wildflower meadow. There are other plants growing amongst the grass but nothing I can identify yet that wasn't there before. It's only been two weeks though so I'm probably just being too impatient!

Hopefully, as well as fitting in more wild moments, this week I'll find some time to share my holiday snaps. Have a lovely week. x

Days 14-18: Water and feathers

Thank you for all the lovely comments so far on my wild adventures and I'm glad you enjoyed the herb cocktail. It was so good we had a repeat performance last night :)

This week has been challenging to fit in some wild time, mostly with it being the first week back at work after my hols and trying to adjust to the work-life balance again. I've also had some extra commitments which meant I had to work Friday evening and Saturday too. So, nothing particularly original and all of it very close to home. Here's what I've been up to.

Day 14: Collect feathers

A stroll around the lake and I noticed the Canada geese have been moulting heavily. I gathered a few feathers with crafting in mind. What kind of crafting I have no idea! They were too tempting to pass up though so they're hiding in the shed until inspiration (and pinterest) strikes.

Day 15: Reflections in the lake

Wednesday evening was relatively fine weather-wise and the lake was calm and still: I love it when it's like that. In some areas the water reflected the sky like glass, in others the gentle ripples transformed the clouds into impressionist paintings.

Day 16: Listen to the rain

It's always difficult to come up with something wild to do when it's raining in the limited time you have. I wanted to check on the grebe so contented myself with watching raindrops and listening to the rain on my umbrella. The shadows are 4 very tall poplar trees not a crowd of people wondering why the crazy lady was videoing a puddle!

Day 17: Grebe watch

I was at work all day with only a brief time at home before going back to work until 10pm. My wild moment was therefore confined to checking on my beloved grebe. She's still there and the anticipation is killing me - how much longer??

Day 18: More grebes! And the garden.

Saturday and I was working again and, so tired when I finally arrived home, that I just had a gentle stroll around the lake and filmed the grebe's mate dabbling in the water.

I also checked up on the latest happenings in the garden. I'm loving the way the clematis and sweetpeas are intertwining this year - both are a much brighter pink than the camera shows. I'm also excited to see the orchid is starting to come into flower. I'm never sure whether it's a common-spotted or a marsh but it's a welcome visitor whatever it is :)